


Feel Like Home

by Trumpeteer34



Series: Prompt Fills [8]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Genre: Community: avengerkink, Domestic Avengers, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Reunions
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-24
Updated: 2015-03-08
Packaged: 2018-01-09 21:01:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1150746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trumpeteer34/pseuds/Trumpeteer34
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Six months after the Invasion of New York, Betty receives a phone call.</p><p>Written for a prompt on the Kinkmeme, asking for Bruce/Betty reunion fluff.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own any of the named/recognizable characters present. They belong to Marvel. This was written purely for fun.

On a night in late autumn, months after the invasion of New York, Betty Ross pulled into her driveway and shifted her car into park. She sat there for a moment before she turned off the vehicle, listening to the last bit of the radio story spilling out of her car speakers. It was a report on how Manhattan was still recovering from the massive invasion, how one of the local business owners had finally reopened his restaurant for business. 

Betty leaned back in her seat a little when the radio personality started asking the man he was interviewing about what, exactly, had caused the destruction. The guy said he wasn’t entirely sure, but there was an imprint on one of the walls of a giant fist. Thankfully, he said, the wall had remained standing, and would turn into what he hoped to be a tourist attraction. Kids apparently loved to see how tiny their fists compared to the Hulk’s. 

When the interviewer asked whether he blamed the Hulk for the damage to his restaurant, the man scoffed. “I can’t say for sure, but I’m fairly certain that he was kicking one of those aliens’ asses. So no, I can’t say I blame the Hulk for the damage. The Hulk’s right up there with Cap’n America and Iron Man, in my book.”

Once the next newscaster started to give the weather report, Betty heaved a sigh and shut her car off. As she collected the groceries from her back seat, she reflected on the report. While it made her unspeakably happy to hear stories like that, casting the Hulk in a positive light, it still pained her to hear them at all.

Back in May, as soon as she had heard about the invasion occurring in Manhattan, and that a certain green giant was amidst the remarkable group of people trying to stop it, Betty had hopped in her car and started racing from Virginia to New York. The only thoughts going through her mind were _Bruce is back_ and _dear god, please stay safe._

But by the time she got into New Jersey, the fight was over, and several armed forces were corralling drivers away from New York. Betty had managed to get a room in a seedy hotel for two days, but by the time the Coast Guard had reopened the roads into New York City, planes were already flying from city airports again. 

She remembered the heaviness that had enveloped her as she watched a plane disappear into the clouds, heading out over the ocean and out of the country. It was the same heaviness that had come over her when she watched the Hulk flee from Harlem, the last time she had seen him in years.

Bruce was on the move again.

She had returned to Virginia feeling empty and lost.

Betty shook her head out of those thoughts and collected the rest of her groceries before she stepped into her home. 

==

It was just after eight o’clock when her phone rang. Betty finished writing the comment in the margin of a student’s essay before she picked up her cell phone to see who it was. 

The number on the screen wasn’t one she recognized; she didn’t even recognize the area code. She almost considered letting it go to voicemail, but considering that she had some time right now, she pressed a button to accept the call.

“Dr. Ross,” she answered, her standard greeting to both colleagues and students alike, and carefully tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. 

There wasn’t a response on the other line, but she heard the caller’s breath hitch. She immediately froze, and suddenly nothing else in the room mattered except for the phone in her hand. She focused everything on the person on the other line as anticipation shot through her, and her own breath hitched a little. 

She hardly recognized her own voice when a quiet, breathless “…Bruce?” found its way past her lips.

Another pause, another hitched breath came from the other end of the call before an equally quiet, equally breathless “...Betty,” came through.

Warmth instantly spread through Betty’s chest, and a silent, breathless laugh escaped from her. Tears silently fell from her eyes as she heard the man on the other line struggle to continue. 

“Betty,” he said again with difficulty, and she could hear the tightness in his voice. “Betty…I—I’m sorry I wasn’t able to call sooner. It’s, um…it’s been an interesting few months.”

“Bruce,” she breathed again, a bright watery smile spreading on her face at the sound of his voice. God, how she missed his voice. “I…I-I saw the footage from the invasion. I tried to get up there, but with the road blocks a-and the National Guard…” She trailed off and sunk back in the chair she was already seated in. The hand that wasn’t clutching the phone settled against her forehead. “What…what area code are you calling from? Where are you?”

“It’s a New York code,” he replied.

Before he could go on, she jumped to her feet. “I’m coming. Stay right where you are, I’m coming—”

There was a huff of laughter on the other end of the call. “I’m in Virginia right now, Betty,” he said softly. “Could I… Would you…” There was a momentary pause as he collected his thoughts. “I’d like to see you.” The words sent a wave of elation though her and a few fresh tears down her face. “Can…can I see you? Please?”

“Do you really need to ask?” Betty replied with a watery laugh of her own, wiping away the tears. “I’m at the same address. How far are you?”

“About half an hour,” he replied.

They stayed on the line with each other until Betty saw a car pull up outside of her house. She rushed outside, not even pausing as the driver’s door opened and the man stepped out of the vehicle, and she raced into Bruce’s arms. The car hadn’t even been turned off yet, but it didn’t matter.

They embraced desperately, holding on to the other like they never wanted to let go. How she had longed to feel his arms around her again, and to feel her arms around him again. She had craved this, been craving it for years, since he first disappeared after the lab accident. What she had had before the Harlem escapade was but a taste of what they had before the accident, but it had been worth it. 

And now he was back, in her arms and returning her embrace just as fervently as she was clinging to him. She was wrapped in his warmth, made almost uncomfortably hot by the radiation, but it just made him feel all the more real against her.

“Bruce,” she whispered into his throat, voice tight with emotion, before she drew her face back to kiss him soundly on the lips.

He froze for all of a second before he sighed happily and kissed her back, and she felt him relax in her arms, and there was no greater feeling in the world right then. 

They remained there in the driveway in the late autumn night, his car engine still running and her house door still ajar, spilling light out onto the lawn that mixed with the headlights from his vehicle. It could have been minutes that passed between them as they hugged and kissed out in the open for anyone to see, but it felt like hours to Betty.

When they finally broke apart, drawing quiet gasps of air and keeping their arms wrapped around the other, Betty lightly ran her hands through his greying curls. “Your hair’s gotten long,” she mused softly. From there, her fingers traveled over the skin on his neck and face. “…and you’re tanner.”

The comments brought a smile to Bruce’s face, one that reached his eyes to make his deep brown irises light up and the lines around his eyes crinkle. He pulled her into another hug, which she returned immediately. “God, I missed you,” he breathed into her hair for what could have been the twentieth time since they had been reunited. “I’m so sorry I left.”

Betty pressed her lips to his cheek, and then nuzzled her face into his throat again, breathing him in. “You came back,” she whispered. She pulled back, just enough to rest her forehead against his, to look him in the eye. “How long can you stay?”

“As long as I can,” Bruce replied without a hint of hesitation, “as long as you’ll have me.”

Betty smiled, full and wide, and pulled him into another kiss. She waited until he turned off his car and grabbed his bag before she took his hand and led him into her home.

==

The next four days passed in a hazy cloud of happiness and nostalgia. Betty still had a boatload of vacation time from her lab job, and her teacher’s assistants could handle her classes for a few days, so they stayed together, inseparable, for nearly each and every second of it. 

They spent a lot of that first day just talking about everything that had happened since the accident and since Harlem, and then what had happened after the invasion of Manhattan—everything. She had marveled in his surprised excitement about having the Hulk actually work as a force for good. He explained that he had been living in Stark Tower since the invasion, with the rest of the team (a team both he and the Hulk were a part of), and was now employed at Stark Industries.

And while she had been worried that Bruce had been living with Tony Stark, the man who had designed a great deal of weapons that her father had enthusiastically used against Bruce, she was stunned that it was Tony Stark who helped him become a free man again. The past six months had, apparently, been one of great legal battles between the US Army and Stark’s finest lawyers. It explained why the Hulk had never appeared when the Avengers showed up occasionally in the news to save the day. As soon as he had received his pardon and been deemed free, he had immediately packed a bag and headed to Virginia to see her.

She made a mental note to thank Stark, if she ever met him.

They stayed curled up together on the sofa long into the night and well into the morning, just holding each other as they talked through everything. And once they woke up late the next morning, nestled into the couch and each other, they talked some more.

Betty also moved his things from the guest room she had situated him in the night he had arrived, and put them in her room instead. She was relieved that she didn’t need to convince him to share a room with her, since they had already fallen asleep in each other’s arms just as easily as ever. It wasn’t awkward at all, drifting off to sleep against him after so long apart. She felt right at home, wrapped in a loose embrace against his chest, and she couldn’t help but smile.

==

Something started beeping in the middle of the night. Betty blinked awake slowly and pressed herself back against the warmth behind her as Bruce reached behind him, fumbling for his phone on the nightstand. She heard him groan quietly before he put the cell phone in front of her face to show her the message.

She hissed when the light from the screen temporarily blinded her, shutting her eyes against the offending bright light. “Did you feel lonely in your blindness?” she asked with a quiet laugh.

“My glasses aren’t in here, and I can’t read this,” Bruce explained, his voice rough with sleep. The easy solution would have been to get out of bed and find them, but he instead wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close. As he spooned up against her again, she relished the warmth of his body.

She read the message to assemble aloud, and once she had finished, he sighed against her neck in resignation. It was a call about some nut in a town just to the west of Culver who had managed to accidentally enlarge an army of insects that were currently terrorizing the rural town.

“I’m sorry to leave you like this,” Bruce said, lips brushing lightly against the back of her neck. 

Betty turned in his arms and pressed a soft, understanding kiss to his lips. “It’s fine,” she said, letting a hand run tenderly along his face. The stubble along his jaw prickled beneath her fingertips. “It’s your first official call to assemble. You need to go.”

The next minute rushed by as Bruce changed out of his pajama bottoms he had been wearing and into a pair of almost-ratty pants that he had packed just for this kind of occasion. He paused in his rush to pull her into a kiss. “I’ll call soon,” he promised against her mouth before he pressed a quick kiss to her lips. “Please stay safe.”

Betty returned his kiss with one of her own. “You too. Please be careful.”

A smile appeared on his face, and it nearly floored her to realize just how much this man had changed in their time apart. He was still her Bruce, but there was a confidence in him that had never been there in all the time she had known him, even before the accident. It made something in her belly flip and something in her chest flutter.

After one last kiss and embrace, he was gone. She watched the car pull away, and continued watching even after the red light of his taillights had vanished into the early morning, leaving her standing alone on her porch.

A few minutes passed, and she stepped back inside her home, carefully closing the door behind her. Her hand lingered on the doorknob, her eyes on the ground as the emptiness of the house settled over her. She turned, letting her gaze travel to the living room, taking in every small piece of evidence that Bruce had been there—had _really_ been there.

There were two mugs sitting on the coffee table with only the remnants of tea discoloring the bottom of the ceramic cups. A cookbook had been pulled from her bookshelf that hadn’t been opened in years, not since the last time she and Bruce had cooked together, back in their old apartment. His glasses were still sitting on the end table next to the paperback book he had been reading while she had finished grading her students’ essays. Even when they weren’t even talking, Bruce’s quiet companionship had warmed her house and made it feel like home.

Betty’s eyes lingered on Bruce’s glasses, and a moment later, she came to a decision. She grabbed his glasses and rushed to her room. 

A few minutes later, she rushed from her house and to her car.

==

Betty was pretty sure she found the right area, judging by the large ant corpse lying half in the road. As she drove further into town, the debris got worse and worse. She was honestly a little surprised that she hadn’t met any resistance, like she had when she had tried to get to New York during the invasion. 

She parked her car on a fairly clear street and stood still for a moment before she began to follow the sound of thunderous footsteps. As she walked, she took in the damage that she could see in the pre-dawn light. It was almost eerily quiet, giving her the feeling that the battle had ended.

She turned a corner and immediately drew a startled breath the moment her eyes found the Hulk. Without moving any closer, she simply observed the scene.

His giant green back was to her, obviously focused on the task at hand. He was crouched down next to Iron Man and in front of a giant dead ant. It looked like the smaller of the two Avengers was taking some sort of sample of whatever fluids filled the inside of the enormous insect, with the Hulk holding the two edges of the fatal wound apart for Iron Man to work. 

Betty took a moment to simply observe, a faint smile coming to her lips. It was remarkable to see Bruce’s greener half standing so still and so calm, but more than that, it was incredible to see him standing next to someone. 

Suddenly, Iron Man turned and looked directly at her.

Betty felt herself tense under the expressionless stare, and she realized that someone must have alerted him of her presence.

Before the suited man could do anything, the Hulk seemed to notice that his teammate’s attention had been shifted and he glanced over his massive shoulder. His green eyes landed on Betty, and before she can really do anything except register the breathless feeling going through her, an enormous grin spread wide across his face. “Betty!” he roared in delight, standing to his full height before he crossed the warzone to her.

Behind him, Betty saw that Iron Man was coming over, too. She started to bristle, sure that he was going to try to keep the Hulk away from her, but then she saw the casual pace the other Avenger was using. She relaxed a little; he wasn’t going to keep them apart. There was still a bit of distance between them, but she thought she could hear Iron Man talking to someone, probably through a communicator on the inside of his helmet.

She didn’t focus on that. A smile appeared on her face as she looked up at the Hulk when he came to a stop a few paces away from her. She was thrilled to see that the Hulk remembered her, even after so long. 

Hulk looked down at her, an expression of surprised pleasure written clearly across his enlarged face. Something like bashfulness crossed his countenance as he held up his hands, which were covered in some vile fluid. “Hulk messy,” he said self-consciously. “Not touch.”

The giant’s improved speech surprised her. The last time they were together, the Hulk’s vocabulary was extremely limited to only a few choice words interspersed between roars and growls and grunts. 

Betty felt her smile widen. He was learning. “Well, come down here, then,” she said as she stepped forward and raised her arms up.

She vaguely heard Iron Man go abruptly silent when the Hulk obediently knelt down. Once they were almost face to face, she focused on his facial features, so very much like Bruce’s. She couldn’t remember ever seeing Bruce’s alter-ego ever look this happy. Her hands traced over his large face, drawing a content rumble from deep in the Hulk’s chest, and she laughed a little breathlessly. 

As her fingers carded through his messy hair, the Hulk’s head bowed slightly, giving her better access to his scalp. “Hulk miss,” he said in a low rumble, like a far-off thunderstorm.

Betty paused in her ministrations, and then moved her hands to his chin and gently lifted his head to look him directly in the eye. There were swirls of brown intermingled in his green irises, and she knew without a doubt that it was both Hulk and Bruce staring back at her. “I missed you, too,” she said softly before she pressed a light kiss to the tip of his nose.

Another rumble, almost like a purr, sounded from deep in the Hulk’s chest. “Betty,” he said before his body began to shrink in on itself.

Keeping her grasp light, Betty followed the shrinking form until she was kneeling down on the debris-ridden street. She had only seen the transformation from Hulk to Bruce once, back in Sterns’ lab years ago. Once she was able to, her arms circled around his bare shoulders. She watched the green recede away until it was just Bruce’s slightly-paler skin beneath her fingertips.

Bruce collapsed forward, his head resting on her shoulder. Betty cradled his body with ease, simply holding his shivering form against hers. She thought she heard him mumble something vaguely resembling her name, but then he went limp as he lost consciousness.

They remained like that for a few uninterrupted minutes before a voice broke Betty from her reverie. “Pardon the intrusion, my lady.”

The words jarred her from her thoughts, and Betty looked up with a start. Her eyes immediately found a large muscle-bound blond man standing above them—Thor. The demigod was holding a bright red piece of heavy fabric in his hands and easily met her gaze. His clear blue eyes held hers for a moment before he gingerly placed his cape upon Bruce’s shoulders. The cloth draped from Bruce’s much smaller frame to effectively shield his half-naked body from the morning chill.

Betty was struck by the kindness of the action and felt a smile rise unbidden to her face. She glanced up at Thor. “Thank you,” she said, voice tight with emotion. Such a simple act of kindness shouldn’t have had this effect on her, but knowing everything that Bruce had been through in the past, she couldn’t help but feel so relieved that there was at least one member on this team who treated him with such care.

Thor returned the smile with a blinding one of his own, seeming to brighten the pre-dawn light. “Think nothing of it,” he said. He knelt down next to the pair already on the ground. “I would gather that you are the fair maiden the good doctor has spoken most fondly of?”

Betty glanced down at the man passed out in her arms for a moment. She hadn’t expected him to have told the other Avengers about her. “I’m Betty,” she introduced herself, “Betty Ross.”

The demigod gently took one of her hands from Bruce’s back and placed a light kiss upon her knuckles. “A friend of Bruce’s is a friend of mine, my lady,” he said as his gaze returned to hers with another smile on his face. “I am Thor, son of Odin.” His eyes lowered to Bruce’s limp form. “May I?”

After realizing the man wanted to take Bruce, Betty instinctively held his body a little tighter. “Where are you taking him?” she asked. She could hear the protectiveness in her voice.

“Home, my lady,” Thor answered. “The doctor is most exhausted after his berserker form has faded. He shall eat and rest until he is well again.” He glanced around the battlefield, probably looking for the others, before he lowered his voice. “You may accompany us, if you wish.”

Betty felt her eyebrows rise in surprise. “Really?”

“Certainly!” Thor proclaimed with an enthusiastic smile. “Come, our transport should be arriving presently. May I?’ he asked again, reaching slowly for Bruce. 

The thought of returning to New York with the other Avengers was jarring. She hadn’t been entirely sure what she had wanted to do, once she had caught up with Bruce again, but it looked like an option had opened itself to her. 

Once he had received her permission, Thor gingerly collected the unconscious man into his arms. The demigod effortlessly cradled him to his chest as he rose to his feet, even as he pulled the cape tighter around Bruce’s body with one hand. Thor offered Betty his hand and pulled her to her feet with ease.

Betty felt tiny next to him, but after interacting with the Hulk a few minutes ago, she felt like she stood taller. She allowed the blond Avenger to lead her to the awaiting jet, where the others had gathered as agents of SHIELD began the clean-up.

==

That was how Betty found herself on a jet with the Avengers, flying off into the sunrise toward Manhattan. Once Thor had announced that they were bringing Betty back with them, a SHIELD agent had brought her the bag from her car (how they even knew was beyond her, but she had learned to stop questioning the capabilities of government agencies a long time ago). The agent told her not to worry about her vehicle and to enjoy the flight.

Aboard the plane, Thor had laid Bruce down in a more secluded portion of the jet (at least, it was away from the cockpit of the jet). He gave her two bottles of water and a damp washcloth, and then moved to sit down next to Captain America further up the plane. Iron Man was sitting across from them, and Black Widow and Hawkeye were both up front in the cockpit.

That had been about half an hour ago. Since then, none of the others had bothered her. She knew the five superheroes had watched her clean the dried insect juices from Bruce’s hands, arms, and face. She knew that they were still watching her, some not as subtle as others, but she paid them no mind. 

Instead, her focus was on Bruce, who was lying on the bench on his back with his head in her lap, still out-cold. Her fingers ran idly through his hair or lightly massaged the muscles in his neck and shoulders, the areas where he had mentioned that were most sore after a transformation. 

Betty’s fingers dug into a knot in Bruce’s neck, and a quiet groan escaped from him. She looked away from the passing clouds out the window and down at the man. 

Bruce’s eyes slowly fluttered open and after a disoriented moment, they focused on Betty’s face. Or, they _tried_ to focus on her face, but given his lethargic expression and the absence of his glasses, he made a valiant effort. He blinked slowly, just staring at her for a long time, before a small smile crossed his face. “Stay safe?” he asked, the words slurred and his voice rough. 

She returned his rueful grin with a tiny smile of her own. “I missed the entire fight,” she assured him. “I was safe.” She resumed running her hands through his hair, and they sat quietly for the next few minutes. Bruce’s eyes slipped back shut.

It felt like the others were watching them once more.

Another moment passed before Bruce opened his eyes again to give her a somber look. “…you know I was going to come back, right?” he asked softly, meant just for her to hear. When Betty’s hand froze, like it had found a tangle in his hair, he brought a shaky hand up to rest on her other hand, which was settled on his shoulder. “This isn’t like last time,” he said in a low, melancholy voice. “I’m not running anymore.”

Staring down at him, watching the guilt and hurt swirl in his saddened brown eyes, she realized that _that_ was why she had chased after him. Their separation had hurt him just as much, probably even more, when he had run away after Harlem, run away from her again. 

Seeing him now, riddled with exhaustion and fervently wanting her to understand, made something in her chest and throat tighten, and she had to blink before the tears could appear in her eyes. “I know,” she finally replied with a smile. The hand in his hair traveled to gently cup his cheek. “I know.”

Bruce’s eyes remained on hers for a lingering moment before he exhaled a long breath through his nose and closed his eyes in relief. When he opened them back up, he gave her a small smile and a gentle pat on the hand, and she almost kissed him right then and there.

“I take it you’ve met the others by now?” Bruce asked in a slightly louder voice.

When Betty didn’t reply, and none of the other Avengers piped up, Bruce heaved an exasperated sigh and struggled to sit up, sure to keep the cape securely around his body. “Really, guys? You couldn’t introduce yourselves?” he asked the rest of his team as Betty helped him get situated on the bench next to her. 

The man in the pilot’s seat spoke up. “Hey, I’ve been flying the jet,” he said in his defense.

The red-headed woman sitting in the copilot’s seat turned an indifferent look to the pilot. “That’s not an excuse,” she told him.

“She doesn’t know that,” the pilot replied, and even though Betty couldn’t see his face, she could hear the smirk in his voice.

As Betty bit back a smile, Captain America turned toward where she and Bruce were seated toward the back of the plane. His cowl had been pushed back to reveal his face, where she found an expression of respectful politeness. “We didn’t want to intrude on you, ma’am,” he said. “You looked like you needed some time.”

The goateed man sitting further down the bench on Bruce’s other side finally looked up from his phone. Despite how many times she had seen his face on television and magazines, Tony Stark’s smile was dazzling. “Does that mean we’re finally allowed to talk now?” he asked. Before anyone else could speak up, Stark slid down the length of the bench until he was right next to Bruce. One arm went carelessly around Bruce’s shoulders while his other hand reached out for a handshake. “Dr. Ross, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you. I’m Tony Stark; I’m sure the Big Guy here has told you _all_ about me.”

Bruce turned a deadpan look over at Betty. “Betty, this is Tony,” he said simply, not even looking like he was bothered by the man hanging off of him.

Betty took the offered hand in one of hers. “It’s a pleasure, Mr. Stark,” she answered, shaking hands with one of the most famous people in the world. It was a little strange.

Stark scoffed as their hands released. “Please, call me Tony.”

Bruce cut in before Tony could go on, gesturing vaguely toward the front of the jet as his other hand held the cape closed against him. “Over there is Captain Steve Rogers, otherwise known as Captain America.”

The super-soldier offered a polite nod. “It’s nice to meet you, Dr. Ross.”

As Betty returned the nod with a smile and a nod of her own, Bruce continued. “That’s Thor, God of Thunder.”

“We were formally introduced on the field of battle,” Thor said with a bright smile, but he still gave Betty a nod of greeting.

“And up front, we have agents Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton, known respectively as Black Widow and Hawkeye,” Bruce went on.

Agent Barton turned in the pilot’s seat to shoot Betty a grin before he returned his focus to flying the jet. Next to him, Agent Romanoff turned enough to give Betty a nod of greeting, and then she also turned back around.

Betty’s attention returned to Bruce when he leaned back against the bench a little. “Everyone,” he said, and her heart fluttered a little when she heard the fondness that had found its way into his voice, “this is Dr. Elizabeth Ross.”

It sounded a little like he had trailed off. Betty gently took his hand and intertwined their fingers. “His girlfriend,” she finished for him. A warm smile touched her lips when Bruce turned to her with a look of open affection on his face. 

Bruce squeezed her fingers lightly as his tender smile widened for a moment. He then cleared his throat and let their hands part. “And I’m still half-naked,” he said to the room at large, carefully nudging Tony’s arm from his shoulders. “Excuse me for a moment.”

It seemed like he was a bit unsteady on his feet, but both she and Tony kept him upright until he found his footing.

As Betty watched her boyfriend walk deeper into the jet, she realized that she was alone with the other Avengers. She turned back around to face them. “I, um…” she began once Bruce was out of earshot, “I hope I’m not intruding.”

Next to her, Tony snorted a laugh. Captain Rogers turned a polite smile her way. “You’re not intruding in the least, Dr. Ross,” he reassured her.

“Cap’s right,” Tony cut in with an easy smile. “ _Mi casa_ and all that. Stick around for a little while. You’re working at Culver, right? They’ll let you get away for a little bit, I’m sure.”

Betty smiled. “Yes, I’m a professor and researcher at Culver University, but I’m afraid I have to be back by Monday.”

“We can fly you back to Virginia on Sunday. That gives you three days to hang out in the tower,” Tony replied.

“That is _if_ you want to stay that long, Dr. Ross,” Captain Rogers interjected. “You shouldn’t feel pressured by Tony, here.”

“Yeah,” Agent Barton jumped into the conversation from the front of the jet, “it’s just his way of saying you’re welcome to stay as long as you want. It’ll give him time to pick through your brain.”

“You’re not picking through her brain, Tony.” It was then that Bruce reappeared, dressed in a pair of loose slacks and a sweater. Thor’s cape was draped over an arm and his gaze was turned on the billionaire. “It never did anything to you.”

As Bruce passed by to return the cape to the demigod, Tony smirked a little leeringly. “Oh, but it _did,”_ he pressed. He scooted out of the way for Bruce to sit back down between himself and Betty. “I mean, have you _read_ some of her articles on chromatin immunoprecipitation?”

“And you’ve lost me,” Captain Rogers said with a sigh, which made Thor and Agent Barton laugh.

The atmosphere in the jet immediately settled into something far less stifling than it had been when Bruce was unconscious. An easy conversation sprung up between them, and while Betty didn’t partake in it, she was content to just sit and listen.

And when Bruce fell into a doze against her, fingers intertwined with hers again, Betty couldn’t help but feel right at home.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own any of the named/recognizable characters present. They belong to Marvel. Other recognizable things belong to their respective owners. This was written purely for fun.

The jet landed smoothly on top of Stark Tower in Manhattan. By then, the sun was fully up and it was a little before ten in the morning. Betty had watched the landscape below them pass by at frightening speeds once the conversation between the other Avengers had died down; it seemed like the early call to battle had worn them out more than they had wanted to initially let on. As the countryside sped by, her thumb lightly ran across Bruce’s knuckles from where their hands had remained together, even while Bruce was sleeping.

The rocking of the jet as it landed stirred Bruce from his doze and he blinked awake. Betty glanced over at him as he lifted his head from her shoulder and sat up straighter against the bench. She noted that he still looked out of it, but he seemed more aware of his surroundings than the time he had woken up with her on the mountain after General Ross had ambushed them at Culver. 

Bruce looked like he could probably fall back asleep right then and there, but he gazed over at her with a lethargic expression on his face. When his eyes met hers, though, and an almost goofy smile crossed his face, Betty couldn’t help but smile back. 

As she gave the hand still grasped in hers an affectionate squeeze, the jet settled. 

“Alright, kids,” Agent Barton said from the cockpit as he started shutting down the aircraft, “this is our stop.” He flipped a switch, and the ramp in the back opened and lowered, letting in a gust of cool air.

They all piled out of the jet and onto the rooftop of Stark Tower. Betty found herself looking around at the buildings surrounding them, a little in awe. This wasn’t her first time in Manhattan, not by a long shot, but this was certainly the first time she had seen the city from this height. With the sun shining against the other skyscrapers and the blue sky seemingly endless overhead, it was breathtaking.

As they were all walking toward the elevator, Tony addressed the group at large. “Alright,” he began, bringing the group to a halt, “so breakfast will be here in half an hour and I expect you _all_ to be there. After that—”

“After that,” Agent Barton cut in, stretching his arms over his head, “I’m going back to bed.”

“Amen,” Bruce muttered next to her under his breath. Betty bit back a grin as he went on. “Wait, when’s the debriefing?”

Captain Rogers glanced over at him, but his eyes met very briefly with Betty’s before he spoke. “Later,” he replied. “Coulson and Director Fury will be here around six tonight. They, uh…wanted to do the debriefing in person this time.”

Immediately, she felt Bruce tense next to her. When she glanced over at him, she found his eyes firmly fixed on the captain. Once she spied the protectiveness in his hardened gaze, she understood the situation.

Betty turned and looked back at Captain Rogers. “Gentlemen of SHIELD?” she asked. She kept a neutral face when the others turned to look directly at her with different levels of curiosity in their eyes. 

After a moment, Agent Barton glanced over at Bruce with a little smirk on his face. “I’m surprised, doc; I didn’t think you’d be the type to blab about classified information like Stark.”

As Tony let out an indignant “hey!” at the jab, Bruce snorted a laugh and rolled his eyes. “Hardly,” he replied. 

Betty felt herself smile. “I was raised around the military, Agent Barton,” she explained as she fixed her gaze back on the archer. “This isn’t the first time I’ve heard of SHIELD or dealt with government agencies, and it surely won’t be the last. I think I can handle meeting these gentlemen.”

Agent Barton, Thor, and Captain Rogers all looked surprised for a fraction of a moment before they smiled. She thought she saw the beginnings of a smile appear on Agent Romanoff’s face, but it was overshadowed by Tony’s brilliant grin. “I like you,” he said, shaking a finger at Betty. He clapped his hands together and then ushered the group into the elevator that had just opened its doors. “Okay, so showers, breakfast, sleep, whatever, debriefing, and then movie night.” He turned back to Betty and gave a wink. “We’ll do the tour later.” 

After that, the elevator let each of the Avengers off on a different floor. Betty traded polite words with each of them as they departed, until she and Bruce stepped off the elevator, waving back at an enthusiastic Thor and a courteous Captain Rogers.

Once the elevator doors were shut, Betty realized that she and Bruce were alone for the first time since the call to assemble had been received in the middle of the night back in her bedroom in Virginia. It was a little strange to think that in the time that had passed, she had met the Avengers and was now in New York.

As she turned to glance over at the man standing next to her, she saw that Bruce had the same thought running through his head. He peered over at her, and despite the apparent exhaustion written clearly across his features, he still smiled as he offered her a hand. “Shall we?” he asked.

Betty felt herself smile even before she let her hand slip into his, giving it a comforting squeeze. 

Bruce led her from the sitting room where the elevator was located and deeper into his current abode—which happened to be an entire floor of the tower. “Tony is really one of the most generous people I’ve ever met,” Bruce explained when he sensed her awe. 

“I didn’t realize you were being serious when you said he gave each of you a floor,” Betty replied, eyes taking in everything there was to see.

Bruce huffed a soft laugh and continued the quick tour. The entire suite had a very homey feel to it, from the choice in wall color and lighting choices to the few decorations that adorned the area. With the sunlight pouring into the living room, it gave the whole room a feeling of warmth that made Betty smile to herself. 

The brief tour ended at the bedroom. A portion of one of the walls consisted of floor-to-ceiling windows that brought in the morning sun and offered a fantastic view of Manhattan. There were bookshelves hugging the other walls, along with a desk that was covered in the same sort of organized clutter that Betty remembered from their time together in the apartment they had shared before the accident. The bookshelves weren’t completely full, and dotted here and there were little trinkets—probably from his time abroad. 

The bed was large and neatly made with a nightstand on either side. On one of them was a bookmarked paperback.

“I, uh…” The sound of Bruce’s voice brought her attention back to him. “There’s a guest room down the hall, if you’d rather…”

As he trailed off with uncertainty, Betty smiled and gave the hand in hers another squeeze. “I don’t mind sharing, if you don’t mind,” she replied, and she promptly felt her smile widen when relief appeared on his face.

After Bruce asked if she wanted to freshen up first, Betty shooed him off to the bathroom connected to the bedroom so he could wash away the rest of the insect gunk from his body. Once she heard the water running, she set down her bag next to the desk and slipped her jacket off to hang over the back of the chair. She explored the room a little more, going to the window to overlook the city and studying the books that had begun to fill the emptiness of the bookshelves in the months Bruce had lived here.

She was sitting at the desk checking work emails on her phone when Bruce came back out with a towel over his head and another wrapped around his hips. Her eyes lifted from her smart-phone and watched as he finished towel-drying his hair, and immediately smiled when he noticed she was staring. He huffed a small laugh as he ducked his head to keep drying his hair. “What?” he asked from behind the folds of the towel.

“What?” Betty replied, hearing the laughter in her voice. “I can’t appreciate the view?”

Bruce paused just long enough to look at her, amusement and a slight skepticism in his gaze. “Like what you see?” he asked casually.

Betty let her eyes wander over the sun-kissed skin of his bare shoulders and chest, following the lines of his body that had thankfully filled out a little more since Harlem. “I always have,” she replied as her eyes returned to his face.

They stared at each other for a lingering moment before Bruce huffed another laugh and ducked into the closet. “You probably want to wash up a little bit,” he called back out to her. “There was something foul in my hair that probably got onto your hands at some point.”

When Betty stepped out of the bathroom, pulling her sleeves back down over her freshly-washed hands, Bruce appeared from the closet. He was wearing a different sweater that looked nice and cozy and a pair of slacks. 

They both came to a pause, simply looking at one another before a smile touched Bruce’s lips. “I still can’t believe you’re here right now,” he said, like he needed to explain himself.

He was still smiling as Betty stepped up close and wrapped her arms around him, and she felt something in her chest warm at how easily Bruce’s arms wrapped around her. They stayed like that for a lingering moment, just soaking in the warmth of the other’s body and enjoying the quiet moment between them.

After another moment, they drew back and shared a brief kiss before they headed to the elevator. They were about five minutes early in getting back to the floor Tony wanted them on, but Bruce didn’t seem to care so Betty didn’t worry about it. 

As the elevator was rising, Betty pondered over the whole situation and bit back a small smile. Bruce immediately saw it. “What?” he asked, even as a smile crossed his face.

Betty laughed softly to herself and looked up at the display that showed which floor they were currently passing. “I’m about to have breakfast with the Avengers,” she said. “It just seems a little…I don’t know, _surreal.”_

Bruce grinned and gently pulled her against his side. “I feel a little like I’m throwing you into a lion’s den,” he admitted. “Meal times are…” he trailed off, searching for the right word to use. “They’re _different.”_

As the elevator began to slow, Betty glanced at him. “Do you remember those chemists down the hall from us in the lab?” Bruce’s growing smile was answer enough. “Do you remember how they left the kitchenette after one of their breakthroughs?” 

A laugh escaped from the man’s body, and he pressed a kiss against her temple. “It’s nothing like that, I swear,” he replied, lips brushing against her skin. “I wouldn’t put you through that again.”

“Then everything’ll be fine,” Betty said with a grin of her own, and the elevator doors opened. 

Together, they stepped out into a living room of sorts and Betty immediately knew it was the penthouse from Bruce’s stories. The floor to ceiling windows let in the sunlight, not so much to be stifling, but enough to cast the room in a warm glow. 

Before they could even begin walking in the direction of the kitchen, Tony’s head appeared around a corner. He eyed them for a solitary moment before he stepped around the corner to lean against the doorway. There was a cup of some steaming beverage in his hands—probably coffee. “You know, I figured you two would be the last ones here,” he greeted them with a smirk and a lightly leering tone.

The implications of the comment should have made her blush, but she found herself smiling as Bruce rolled his eyes fondly at the other man. 

Neither of them got a chance to reply before a woman’s faux-reprimanding voice came from somewhere behind Tony. “Tony, it’s too early in the day to be harassing our tenants and guests.”

As Tony’s face twisted into something overly put-upon, a redheaded woman in an immaculate business suit appeared behind him. Betty instantly recognized her as Miss Pepper Potts, CEO of Stark Industries.

As if the day couldn’t get any more surreal.

Miss Potts lightly nudged Tony until he went back into the kitchen. Then she turned and looked directly at Betty before an easy smile graced her features. “You’ll have to excuse him,” she said warmly as she stepped across the room toward them.

Next to her, Bruce snorted. “There are no excuses for him,” he snarked, but there was no real heat behind the words.

Almost immediately, Tony’s head appeared in the doorway again. “I’m wounded, Green Bean,” he pouted. “And to think I put the kettle on for you.”

“You put the kettle on for Pepper,” Bruce replied, not even bothering to hide his little grin as the other man gave him a full-on pout.

“And speaking of the kettle you put on for Pepper,” Miss Potts cut into their banter with almost frightening efficiency. She turned another polite smile toward Betty and offered her hand. “Pepper Potts,” she introduced herself as.

The two women shook hands, and again, Betty couldn’t quite believe that these past few days weren’t part of some elaborate dream. “Betty Ross,” she returned before their hands released. “It’s nice to meet you, Miss Potts.”

“Oh please,” the redhead demurred with a light laugh, “call me Pepper. Just about everyone does, nowadays.”

“Wonder why that is,” Tony mused aloud from across the room. When Pepper turned and gave him a look, he slunk back into the kitchen without another word, which made all three of them laugh. 

Pepper led Betty and Bruce into the kitchen, where Tony was pulling down a handful of coffee mugs from a cabinet. There was indeed a kettle on the stovetop and a nearly full pot of coffee sitting on the coffee-maker. There was a small stack of plates sitting on the kitchen island, along with a multitude of different eating utensils. 

As Bruce was leading her toward the cabinets, he glanced over at Tony. “Where’s everyone else?” he asked.

“I sent Thor and Cap down to pick up the food a few minutes ago, so they should be back anytime now. The Wonder Twins ought to be up any second,” Tony replied as he hopped up onto a bar stool sitting on the other side of the kitchen island. 

As if on cue, there was the sound of footsteps coming from the next room, signaling that someone else had arrived. Agent Romanoff and Agent Barton both rounded the corner, having changed and showered. It was rather strange, seeing them out of uniform.

It was even stranger to see the other two Avengers out of uniform.

Captain Rogers and Thor appeared just behind the two SHIELD agents, arms laden with what could only be the breakfast Tony had ordered. They had both showered and changed into comfortable civilian clothes. It was frankly bizarre to see Captain America and the God of Thunder in jeans and t-shirts.

Betty was forced to tear her eyes away from the sight when Tony clapped his hands together. “Alright,” the man began with a cheery grin, “we’re all here.” He turned his widening grin toward Betty. “There’s coffee, Bruce’s wide selection of tea, and just about every kind of fruit juice known to man. Take your pick, grab a plate, and eat with us.”

“Tony,” both Pepper and Captain Rogers began in warning tones.

A soft chuckle from Bruce turned Betty’s attention to him. Bruce was pulling a few boxes of bagged tea from the cabinet, but paused to turn a smile toward her. “Don’t worry about him,” he told her in a soft murmur, like it was meant to be just for her to hear, but Betty knew that the rest of them were listening. “He’s just excited that you’re here. You should have seen him after I told him that I knew Dr. Elizabeth Ross; he went _on and on_ about it.”

“More like _couldn’t get him to shut up about it,”_ Agent Barton added as he smirked over at Tony, who rolled his eyes. “Don’t be surprised if he ambushes you later to interrogate you.”

“ _Not_ interrogate,” Tony corrected the archer as he glanced back over at Betty, “ _converse_ with you.”

“You’ll have time for that later, dear,” Pepper replied as she gave Tony’s shoulder a consoling pat. “Let the woman eat her breakfast in peace.”

Tony looked like he wanted to protest (and Betty had a feeling that he just liked to be difficult), but Betty smiled and cut in before he could speak. “How about we have a chat about work once Bruce is back up to speed?” 

The man standing next to her paused abruptly and turned a narrow-eyed look at her. “Just what does that mean?” he asked. If Betty hadn’t known him as well as she did, she would have thought he was seriously offended, but she saw the amusement in his eyes and the smile he was biting down with ease.

Further down the counter, pouring herself a glass of orange juice, Agent Romanoff snorted a laugh. “She knows about your post-Hulk funk, and _how_ many times has she actually seen it?”

“ _Really_ seen it?” Agent Barton added with a smirk from next to the coffeemaker.

To be honest, this was really only the third time she had been with Bruce after a Hulk transformation, and one of those times shouldn’t have counted since he had only been transformed for a minute in Sterns’ lab. But that one she had been with him for, up in the mountains, had been rough. He had hardly talked, since he had been focused completely on not falling asleep and not falling down as she had led him down the mountain to that cheap motel in the valley. It had taken hours for him to return back to a base-line.

And yet, she was standing next to him now, post-Hulk, and he was trading quips back and forth with his team. A little slower than she knew he was capable of, to be sure, but the fact that he was awake and speaking at all was remarkable.

And the fact that the rest of his team was _teasing_ him about it, not in a hurtful way, but in a way that only came with camaraderie and friendship, was remarkable.

Betty smiled and lightly bumped shoulders with the man standing next to her. “I just want to be sure you’re at your best before we discuss our fields.”

Bruce smiled back and lightly nudged her in response.

“Probably a good thing, too,” Agent Barton replied, “since he’s not allowed in the labs after a Hulk-out until he’s eaten and slept for at least five hours.”

As Bruce rolled his eyes and went back to making his tea, Betty glanced over at the archer. “Why’s that?” she asked.

“He blew up the lab,” Agent Romanoff answered.

“That was one time,” Bruce protested without looking away from what he was doing. 

“Only because JARVIS caught you the second time before anything blew up,” the redheaded assassin rejoined smoothly before taking a long sip from her orange juice.

“You blew up the lab?” Betty asked, shooting a concerned look over at Bruce.

“Tony does it all the time,” he replied with a nonchalant shrug, and she could see the stiffness in the movement.

At the kitchen island, Tony set down his mug of coffee. “Hey, don’t drag me into this,” he piped in as he grabbed a plate to start serving himself, “and it isn’t _all_ the time.”

Thor paused in scooping heaping spoonfuls of scrambled eggs onto his plate to glance over. “Was it not your decision to implement such a rule, doctor?” 

Bruce glanced over his shoulder to look at the massive Asgardian. “That doesn’t mean you all had to agree so vehemently with me,” he replied, but there was a small smile touching his lips. He turned to Betty. “So as long as Tony doesn’t decide to jump ahead without me, you can see the labs tomorrow.”

Tony grabbed two clean plates as he rolled his eyes. “I promise not to show Dr. Ross the labs without you, Big Guy,” he pledged. He handed Betty an empty plate and set the other on the counter next to Bruce. “It’ll be hard, but I think I can manage.”

After that, they all went about filling their plates. Tony really had ordered them all a feast, there was so much food provided. 

But Bruce hadn’t been lying when he had told her that meal times here were different. Even with them all sharing a meal after a mission, there was no lack of boisterous conversation. Betty mainly sat back and listened, all-the-while marveling over how much food the team could put away. Then again, with a demigod and two serum-enhanced individuals, it shouldn’t have been surprising.

Over the course of the meal, Betty noticed Bruce growing more and more quiet as his energy began to flag. He still kept up with the conversation, but from how long his blinks were becoming, she knew that he was struggling to keep his eyes open. 

Sure enough, once he had finished off the last of his tea, he leaned in toward Betty. “Are you ready to head out?” he asked softly, so as not to interrupt the bickering match between Tony and Captain Rogers that Agent Barton only seemed to be egging on.

Under the table, Betty gently took hold of his right hand in her left and gave it an affectionate squeeze. “Whenever you are,” she replied in a low whisper.

A drowsy smile touched Bruce’s lips and he gave her hand a squeeze in response before he cleared his throat. 

The conversation went quiet as the table’s attention was turned toward Bruce and Betty. “We’re off,” Bruce announced as he pushed back his chair, Betty following. “Debrief at six?”

“That’s right,” Captain Rogers replied with a nod. He smiled. “You and Hulk did good out there today,” he said. 

“Oh yeah!” Agent Barton added, nearly spilling his coffee as he turned to look over at them. “Welcome officially back to the team, doc!”

“Hear, hear!” Thor proclaimed, raising his own mug of coffee in a toast. “A celebratory feast should be had!”

“Let’s just stick with the movie night,” Bruce replied almost sheepishly, though when Betty glanced at him, she knew he was happy to be back as an official member of the Avengers again.

“Pizza and a movie after the debrief,” Tony announced. “Now get some sleep, big guy.” He turned his gaze to Betty and smiled a bit more genuinely. “Sleep well. If Bruce turns out to be a horrible host, just ask JARVIS for anything.”

With another round of _sleep wells,_ Bruce led the way back to the elevators. 

As the elevator doors closed, Betty watched Bruce lean back against the wall. She abandoned her hold on his hand to step in closer, wrapping her arm around his waist so he could lean against her if he needed to. 

A beautiful smile of gratitude appeared on his face and he let his arm wrap around her in return.

They stepped off of the elevator when it reached his floor and they walked together through the suite to his bedroom. Betty went to her bag next to his desk to pull out the pair of pajamas she had packed, and within a few minutes, they had both changed and were nestled under the covers together. The windows tinted, keeping out the sunshine and darkening the room. 

“Thanks, JARVIS,” Bruce murmured as he curled around Betty, who happily settled into his arms. He pressed a kiss against the side of her neck. “I’ll introduce you properly to JARVIS tonight,” he promised against the warmth of her throat.

Betty smiled and let her fingers card through his hair to keep his head in place. She was lying on her back with her arm wrapped around Bruce’s body, holding him. His head was settled more on her shoulder than on the pillow, but Betty hardly cared. She had her Bruce in her arms, safe and sound with her again. 

“Get some sleep, honey,” she murmured as she let her hand card through his hair again.

He only hummed in response, eyes already closed and already on his way to dozing off.

Betty wasn’t too far behind him. After all, she had been up since the call to assemble had been received back in the pre-dawn hours in her bedroom back in Virginia. For those lingering moments before she fell asleep, she was content to simply hold her beloved Bruce against her, to feel the warmth his body gave off and to feel his chest gently rise and fall with each long breath, to feel the slight tickle of each breath against her neck with every exhale. It was the little things that solidified the notion that he was finally with her again, that he wasn’t going to run away from her again.

Relieved and content, she fell asleep.

==

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Dr. Ross.” The trench coat-clad gentleman with an eye patch offered a hand and a well-practiced smile. “I’m Nick Fury, director of SHIELD.”

It was nearing seven in the evening. She and Bruce had slept until five o’clock, when Tony’s artificial intelligence had gently woken them up for the upcoming debriefing. Betty had stayed up in his suite while he went off to the meeting, reassuring him that she’d be fine meeting the SHIELD representatives.

Bruce was obviously concerned and being very protective, but she was the daughter of a highly-ranked official with the military (as much as she detested to think about it). She had been around military-types all of her life. Being in a room alone with the director of SHIELD and one of his top agents wasn’t going to be an issue.

Betty smiled pleasantly and took Director Fury’s proffered hand. “And a pleasure to meet you, Director,” she replied in a friendly tone. 

The other agent, a man with a receding hairline and dressed in a sharp suit, stepped forward to also shake her hand. “Agent Phil Coulson,” he introduced himself as with a much more friendly smile than the director had offered. “We’d like to talk with you about what happened today.”

“Of course,” Betty replied, and they all sat down.

“So,” Director Fury began as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs and directing his one-eyed stare straight on Betty, “I understand you and Dr. Banner share a rather _intimate_ relationship.”

“We’ve been dating off and on for several years,” Betty replied mildly, meeting the director’s stare evenly. “I would say we’re pretty close.”

The corner of Director Fury’s mouth quirked upward. “That much is obvious,” he said.

As Betty’s eyes narrowed just slightly, she saw Agent Coulson lean forward in his seat fractionally. “We would like to discuss your interactions with the Hulk today,” he began. “Not only did he seem to recognize you, he _listened_ to you.”

Betty turned her gaze toward Agent Coulson. “Of course he did,” she responded. “He’s done it before.”

She watched the two SHIELD representatives exchange brief looks before they focused in on her again. “You’re not just talking about the incident in Harlem,” Director Fury asked, “are you?”

That night in Harlem was probably documented, but considering the majority of eyewitnesses had been military—which included General Ross—she didn’t know how accurate those files were. All she knew was that the media largely blamed the destruction on Hulk and not on the other creature that had been wreaking havoc that night. 

She didn’t know if these gentlemen blamed Hulk, too.

Betty easily met the director’s stare with cool eyes, not willing to give anything away that they could turn against Bruce. “What do you know about that incident, director?” she asked smoothly.

A half-smile touched Director Fury’s lips. “We aren’t the army, Dr. Ross,” he reminded her. “We’re on your side.”

“And which side is that?” Betty inquired.

“The side that wants to keep both Hulk and Dr. Banner on the Avengers and off of the terrorist watch lists,” Director Fury explained. When Betty didn’t respond for a moment, the director finally leaned back in his seat. “I don’t know all of what Banner has told you,” he began, “but since the invasion of Manhattan, he hadn’t just been sitting here playing scientist with Stark. He very nearly had to leave the country again to keep himself safe from interested parties, including your father.” 

As Betty felt her fingers twitch with the intense desire to curl her hands into fists, Fury went on. “We want him here, where they both can do some good for the world. Banner is already doing some amazing things with Stark Industries, and Hulk has displayed his ability to fight side by side with the rest of the Avengers. For the betterment of the world, it is imperative that these qualities are what’s shown to the world.”

Understanding dawned on Betty, and she carefully regarded the two men in front of her. “And Hulk listens to me,” she said.

That half-smile on the director’s face widened. “Hulk listens to you,” he repeated with a nod. “He has gotten much better at taking direction from Captain Rogers, and for whatever reason, he seems to listen to Stark and, to a degree, Agent Barton.” He leaned forward again, staring her down. “But he doesn’t _always_ listen to them.”

Betty watched him stand up and walk around Agent Coulson’s chair. The agent had a tablet in his hands, but his focus was completely on her. When the director came to a stop behind his agent, Fury’s arms were folded behind his back and his one-eyed stare was directed on her again. “I would not be asking you this if I thought the rest of the team or SHIELD could handle it,” he admitted almost begrudgingly, “but we need them both.” The two of them watched each other for a moment. “Dr. Ross,” he began again, like there was nothing more important in the world than what he was about to say, “can we count on you to calm the Hulk down in times of emergency?”

Betty stared at the director for a handful of heartbeats before she glanced away in thought. She hadn’t really expected her discussion with these two men to have taken this turn. She was certain that there was more to this than Fury was telling her, but she wanted nothing more than to keep Bruce safe. 

And Fury knew that.

Taking a deep breath, she met Fury’s eye again. “Yes,” she answered, “I can do that.”

A smile crossed Fury’s face.

“We’re hoping the times will be few and far between,” Agent Coulson said as he leaned forward to slide the tablet across the coffee table toward her. “Hopefully this kind of situation will never arise. We just need you to sign a few things and to provide us with contact information.”

Betty picked up the tablet and read through everything provided. There were the general government organization forms that swore her to secrecy and discretion, but aside from that, it all seemed perfectly normal. Betty filled in her contact information and signed the forms before sliding the tablet back to the agent, who gave her a thankful smile as he took it.

“Thank you, doctor,” Agent Coulson said as he scanned over the forms. Once everything was cleared, the two representatives shook hands with her again before they made for the elevator. 

The lift stopped on the communal floor. When the doors opened, the entire team was assembled in the opening, and when they were all together, they were a force to be reckoned with. 

Betty stepped off of the elevator and joined Bruce, who wrapped a protective arm around her. She let him, but she gave his chest a reassuring pat.

“So,” Tony began conversationally, but his casual tone seemed almost forced, “are you two gents done here?”

“We’re done,” Agent Coulson promised, giving the billionaire a bland little smile. “Thank you for meeting with us.” His eyes drifted to Betty when he said that before he focused back in on Tony. “We’re heading back to SHIELD now.”

“Good idea,” Tony replied with a sharp grin. He gave the two agents a finger-waggling wave as the elevator doors slid shut.

As soon as the elevator continued its descent to the lobby, the tension in the room seemed to evaporate. Bruce’s arm around her back loosened as he turned to look at her. “Are you okay?” he asked softly, meeting her eyes and looking genuinely concerned. 

“I’m fine,” Betty reassured him with a gentle smile. “I just needed to sign some paperwork is all.”

“Ugh,” Tony said with a note of disgust. “Of course you did. It was _Coulson.”_ He clapped his hands together. “Now then, onward to pizza and movie night.”

As Tony led the group toward the kitchen, Bruce kept Betty behind for a moment. She lifted her hand and lovingly caressed his face. “Honey, I’m fine,” she said softly again. “They just want to keep us safe.”

“With Fury, it’s always more than that,” Bruce murmured as he cast his eyes toward the closed elevator doors, like he could still glare down the director of SHIELD. 

Betty guided his face back toward her and met his eyes. “You might be right,” she admitted quietly, “but let’s not worry about it now, okay?”

Knowing Bruce, it would sit in his mind, but his face softened and he took her hand in his. “Okay,” he replied softly, pressing a soft kiss against her knuckles.

“Hey lovebirds!” 

Bruce and Betty glanced toward the doorway leading into the kitchen. Agent Barton was leaning against the doorframe, staring at them with an expectant look on his face. “Pizza’s getting cold, and as much as _I_ enjoy cold pizza, I know it’s not everyone’s thing.” 

He grinned before he retreated back into the kitchen, and Betty smiled as Bruce huffed a small laugh. “Clint has the strangest eating habits, I swear,” he muttered as he tangled their fingers together. They started walking to the kitchen.

“Cold pizza isn’t that bad,” Betty replied with a teasing smile as they stepped into the room.

“Hmm,” came a hummed response from further inside the kitchen. They glanced over to see Agent Romanoff watching them. “Sounds like you have an ally, Clint,” the redhead said with a faint smile as she glanced over toward the archer, who looked pleased beyond words.

They all grabbed a plate and grabbed some pizza before heading back out into the living room, where everyone spread out across the different pieces of furniture. Betty sat down next to Bruce on a long sofa, smiling when he scooted a little closer. The rest of the team was scattered about the room, munching happily on pizza as the lights dimmed and the television screen across the room flickered to life. 

As the movie progressed, Betty leaned to her left. Bruce lifted his arm and looped it around her, and they settled effortlessly against one another. She felt herself smile peacefully as she settled against him, delightfully warm and wonderfully comfortable. 

There were things she should have been focusing on. She still had a pile of essays and lab reports to finish grading back home. She had lesson plans to write up and work in the lab that needed to be done. Then there was her discussion with Director Fury and Agent Coulson, which she knew would only worry Bruce if she told him about it. 

There were a number of things that she needed to think about, but for tonight, she could place it on the backburner. Tonight, she could settle against Bruce—her Bruce—which felt as new and exciting as it felt old and familiar. They could share an evening together with good company, relaxed and easy like they had been doing this for years. 

Tonight, she had this, and for tonight, that was enough.


End file.
